======== Subject: Project Gutenberg Newsletter Pt 2 From: "Michael S. Hart" <hart@prairienet.org> To: "Project Gutenberg mailing list" <gutnberg@listserv.unc.edu> Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 16:23:13 -0500 (CDT) **This is Project Gutenberg's Newsletter for Wednesday, June 7, 2001** [This is such a long Newsletter is is broken into 2 parts, this is #2] [Moderators. . .while I feel this news is an important part of this Newsletter. . .you have my permission not to include this portion.] Notes from News Scan [MCI] WORLDCOM PAYS $3.5 MILLION TO SETTLE "SLAMMING COMPLAINT" Long-distance company WorldCom Inc. is paying $3.5 million to settle an inquiry by the Federal Communications Commission into 2,900 complaints from persons charging that WorldCom telemarketers switched them away from other phone service carriers using a deceptive practice known as "slamming." WorldCom president Bernard J. Ebbers says the slamming incidents "were perpetrated by a few sales employees who have since been terminated." (Washington Post 7 Jun 2000) [Not a cent went to the "slammees."] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10351-2000Jun6.html CHINA ARRESTS WEB SITE OPERATOR Police in the Chinese city of Chengu have arrested 36-year-old Huang Qi on suspicion of "subverting state power" by operating the Web site www.6-4tianwang.com, which publishes information about human rights problems and corruption in China. If tried and convicted Huang could be imprisoned for more than ten years. (Reuters/San Jose Mercury News 7 Jun 2000) http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/72937l.htm AT&T WINS APPROVAL FOR PURCHASE OF MEDIAONE The Federal Communications Commission gave conditional approval of AT&T's $58-billion planned acquisition of the MediaOne cable group, but will require the combined entity to comply with a rule barring any company from serving more than 30% of the nation's market for subscription-TV services, including cable and satellite. To meet that requirement, AT&T could sell off its stake in the Liberty Media Group, or its 25% share of Time Warner cable systems, or its own cable systems serving almost 10 million customers. But even after AT&T complies with the FCC's requirement to pare itself down, the company will be the nation's largest provider of long-distance telephone and cable TV service. (Washington Post 6 June 2000) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3009-2000Jun5.html BRUSSELS LOOKING TO CLOSE WEB TAX LOOPHOLE The European Commission is expected to adopt a proposal this week that would eliminate a loophole used by merchants outside the EU to avoid levying the Value Added Tax (VAT) on their customers. Currently, U.S. companies can sell intangible items such as digital music, software and information over the Web to buyers in Europe without having to worry about being accountable for the VAT. The Commission now wants to treat sales of those items in the same way it does books, CDs and other tangible purchases, which are already subject to the VAT. The U.S. has pushed for relief for American companies, but the director of tax policy at the EC says e-commerce should be treated like any other form of commerce and no concessions should be made. "Obviously, the U.S. will have a problem with this as American companies will be taxed despite having no physical presence (in the EU)," says the president of KPMG-European VAT & Customs Services. (Financial Times 5 Jun 2000) http://www.ft.com/ INFOTECH IS DRIVING THE AMERICAN ECONOMY A new report from the U.S. Commerce Department says that digital technologies have become the driving force of the American economy, accounting for one-third of overall economic growth in the last five years and making the country more productive. During that time computer prices fell 26% a year, infotech investment doubled, technology industries invested $45 billion in R&D, and the number of people in the world with Internet access increased a hundred-fold, to more than 300 million. (New York Times Cybertimes 6 Jun 2000) http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/06/cyber/capital/06capital.html BOOKSELLERS IN WARY TRUCE WITH DIGITAL COMPANIES There are 60 digital providers at this year's BookExpo America convention in Chicago, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is the feature speaker, and the convention offerings include seminars with titles such as "ePublishing Today" and "Retailing eBooks and Books on Demand." Although some booksellers are in shock about the decision to ask Bezos to be the keynote speaker, the president of the American Booksellers Association says that most people acknowledge that the choice of Bezos "reflects some of the changes in the book industry." (AP/San Jose Mercury News 31 May 2000) htp://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/51596l.htm LAWSUIT CHARGES CBS WITH STEALING IDEAS FROM WEB COMPANY Entertainment Network Inc., which operates a Florida-based Web site that paid college tuition for a half dozen women who agreed to have cameras situated throughout their group house sending 24-hour-a-day live video feeds of all aspects of their daily lives, is suing CBS and Infinity Broadcasting for allegedly stealing the site's marketing strategies and technical expertise. CBS and Infinity, who are developing a similar program called "Big Brother," say the suit is frivolous. (AP/New York Times 1 June 2000) http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/06/biztech/articles/01voyeur-lawsuit.html ##MITNICK LAWYERS SAY SPEAKING BAN VIOLATES FIRST AMENDMENT Ex-convict network hacker Kevin Mitnick, out on parole but forbidden by the court to write or speak about the computer industry, is being represented by New York attorney Floyd Abrams, an expert on the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. Abrams has been retained by publisher Steven Brill, who wants to use Mitnick as a columnist for the Contentville Web site. (CNet/New York Times 25 May 2000) http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_0_4_1951220_00.html LATIN AMERICA BETS ON WIRELESS Latin America's population lags behind Europe and the U.S. in terms of online users, but that may soon change. The new users won't be logging on via a PC, however -- they're much more likely to access the Internet via wireless phones, a market that's growing at an impressive 30%. The switch to wireless access eliminates the need to plunk down $1,000 or more on a new PC, and could jump-start the Internet revolution in that region. While 90% of Latin American households have a television set and cable penetration approaches 50% in most countries, only a small percentage of middle-income households are online -- a statistic that has stymied the expansion of e-commerce in the region. "As a businessman, I want to be able to invest in a place where I will be able to sell the Internet to most people, not just the few that are rich," says one Argentine-born entrepreneur. "What I love about investing in Europe is that it has the richest poor people of the world." (The Standard 9 May 2000) http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14920,00.html INTEL COURTS "OPEN-SOURCE" MOVEMENT WITH NEW CHIP In an uncharacteristic move, Intel plans to release over the Internet technical details of its new Itanium microprocessor, in a effort to boost the use of the Linux operating system with its chips. The Itanium Processor Microarchitecture Reference, to be released today, includes nitty-gritty details such as how the chip manages data memory. Previously, details like this were closely guarded secrets, made available only to a few partners, like Microsoft, who were forced to sign nondisclosure agreements. Linux, an "open-source" operating system whose technical details are made freely available to software developers and engineers, is increasingly found on the servers that Intel hopes will soon be using its chips. Itanium, previously code-named Merced, is due for release in the second half of this year and marks Intel's first major new microprocessor design in nearly 15 years. (Wall Street Journal 10 May 2000) http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB957908075498923116.htm BILL CRIMINALIZES DRUG LINKS The House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote this morning on the Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act, legislation that would affect some Web sites because it restricts the publication of information about illegal drugs. Marv Johnson, legislative counsel for the ACLU, says the act raises serious First Amendment concerns. A section of the bill prohibits teaching or demonstrating how controlled substances are manufactured. The House and Senate both have their own versions of the bill. A number of House Judiciary Committee members are in favor of the Senate version. The Senate version would require ISPs and other hosting companies to respond to government complaints by shuttering offending Web sites on 48 hours notice. (Wired News, 9 May 2000) DOT-COMS INVADE THE DORMITORY In the tradition of Dell Computer and Microsoft, more and more college students are running dot-com businesses out of their dorm rooms--despite some school polices forbidding such enterprises. Past prohibitions on student business stemmed from the noise and confusion created in merchandise-based transactions - a student selling T-shirts out of a dorm room, for example. But today's student entrepreneurs use computers and cell phones to conduct business quietly and their activities are less disturbing to their roommates. Some school tech staff watch levels of Internet traffic to try to ferret out those doing business online. But student entrepreneurs set up off-campus post office boxes, use cell phones and non-school Internet addresses, and meet prospective investors in restaurants to avoid detection. And even when they are caught, some schools do little more than lecture them. (Newsweek, 15 May 2000) BATTLE OVER DVD CODE MOVES TO HYPERLINKS In a case that could hold widespread ramifications for free speech on the Internet, the Motion Picture Association of America and other top movie studios are requesting a federal judge grant an injunction that would force 2600 Magazine to remove controversial hyperlinks from its Web site. The hyperlinks provide information about DVD encryption. The movie studios contend that the encryption codes are trade secrets, but civil liberties advocates such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation argue that the codes are free speech protected by the First Amendment. This is just the latest round in the battle between the movie studios and New York-based 2600 Magazine. Months ago the studios were granted an injunction that prohibited the Web site from displaying information about the DVD encryption. Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Robin Gross says the injunction the movie studios are seeking would chill free speech. (Newsbytes, 4 May 2000) INTERNET GENDER GAP HAS CLOSED IN U.S. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, 46% of Web surfers are now female, compared with just 18% in 1996. Much of the "gender gap" has closed in the last six months, during which 9 million American women went online for the first time. After surveying 3,533 adults in March, Pew researchers concluded that men and women spent roughly equal time online, with women tending to frequent health and medical sites, and men using the Net to research product information and trade stocks. The findings mirror those of another market research study released last month by the Angus Reid Group of Vancouver, Canada, which said American men and women spend equal time surfing the Net and placing online shopping orders. And in contrast to some earlier reports, the two recent studies found that being online contributes to social interaction and family connections, rather than fueling isolation and depression. "The Internet is not isolationist; it's 'connectionist,'" says Pew official Lee Rainie. (Los Angeles Times 11 May 2000) http://www.latimes.com/business/20000511/t000044476.html U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO EXTEND NET TAX BAN The U.S. House of Representatives voted 352 to 75 yesterday to extend the moratorium on Internet-specific taxes for another five years. The current ban was set to expire in October 2001. The Internet Nondiscrimination Act also repealed a "grandfather" clause that had allowed 11 states to collect Internet access fees imposed before the ban was enacted. The moratorium does not prohibit a state from collecting taxes on sales of goods by sellers who have a physical presence in that state. The legislation has sparked sharp disagreement between those who feel the moratorium hurts small bricks-and-mortar retailers and states that need the sales tax revenue, and those who want to foster the fledgling e-commerce industry. (ECommerce Times 11 May 2000) http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles20000/00511-3.shtml NETWORK SOLUTIONS TO OFFER "PRE-OWNED" NAMES Network Solutions is expanding its Internet domain name registration business to include "pre-owned" names ending in .com, .net and .org. Dozens of Web sites have entered the resale market in the last few years, giving cyberspeculators a venue for auctioning off names they've registered, sometimes for millions of dollars. Network Solutions says it will offer its new service for free during an introductory period, and later plans to fold its resale business into its existing name search and registration process. (Los Angeles Times 15 May 2000) http://www.latimes.com/business/20000515.t000045842.html CHINESE FINANCIAL SITE PUNISHED FOR "SPREADING RUMORS" The China Finance Information Network, a local Web site, has come under fire from the country's Internet Information Management Bureau, which was established in April to monitor Internet content. The site was fined US$1,800 and suspended for 15 days for "spreading rumors" damaging to the government's image. The transgression appears to be the publication in March of a Hong Kong newspaper article about corruption by a provincial official in Hubei. Bureau chief Wang Qingchun was quoted in the Liberation Daily saying that pending rules on Internet content could limit Chinese Web sites to publication of news originating only from authorized reports in the state media. (Financial Times 15 May 2000) http://www.ft.com/ WHEN IS A DATABASE MORE THAN A DATABASE? Upstart Jurisline.com is being sued by legal publisher Lexis for copying the CDs containing court opinions and related documents that Lexis sells and distributing the same information free on its Web site. For decades, the database of legal material has been marketed by two companies -- Reed Elsevier's Lexis and Thomson Corp.'s West Publishing -- which charge premium rates for access to a single document and reap millions of dollars a year in subscription fees from the nation's law firms. Jurisline.com, on the other hand, distributes the information for free, making its revenue on advertising. At issue in the court case is whether Lexis's license agreement prohibiting the purchaser from developing "a database, infobase or other information resource" is legally enforceable, given that the materials in question were written on the taxpayer's dime and can't be copyrighted. A federal judge is expected to rule today in the case. (Wall Street Journal 15 May 2000) http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB958348989291026253.htm TRADEMARK-THIS DOT-COM A study of trademark applications submitted to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office shows that the number of applications between 1994 and 1999 increased more than a thousand-fold, from just 307 in 1994 to 33,731 in 1999. In addition, the number of trademark applications with the ".com" domain name went from 4 in 1994 to 12,000 last year. A partner in the Philadelphia law firm that conducted the study sees some confusion up ahead: "There are similar trademarks pending with garden.com, pets.com and others of that ilk. The real question will be what happens when you have a generic.com and someone else comes real close. What happens when you stick on an i, or an e, or make it a plural?" The government's trademark policies are posted on www.uspto.gov. (New York Times 15 May 2000) http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/05/biztech/articles/15pate.html BRITS UNFAZED BY DOT-COM FRENZY A new survey by FT.com shows the British public has little interest in Internet startups -- only 7% of the 2,000 people questioned said they aspired to be part of the dot-com industry, and only 3% said they'd give up their current jobs if they had a good idea for a startup. Most people surveyed did not think the Internet will have much of an impact on their jobs, with only 5% worrying that changes brought about by the Net could affect the future of their careers. Even the get-rich-quick scenario failed to draw much interest -- only 12% of respondents said they envied dot-com millionaires, while 22% said they were overrated and overhyped and 18% said they were just opportunists looking for a quick buck. "Too many people by far are alienated by the Internet rather than empowered by it," says Michael Foster, managing director of FT.com. "They don't want to be part of the dotcom revolution, they don't want to invest in it and they don't understand the technology. It is the responsibility of business and the media to communicate the rewards the Internet can offer in a way which connects with people." (Financial Times 22 May 2000) http://www.ft.com/ JAPANESE PREFER TO LOG ON VIA PHONE Figures released by Japan's three cell phone operators -- NTT DoCoMo, Nippon Ido Tsushin Corp. and J-Phone -- indicate the number of Japanese cell phone users with Internet access will top 10 million by the end of this month, making the mobile phone Japan's most popular means for accessing the Web. DoCoMo says it has 6.92 million subscribers to its iMode service, and is adding about 20,000 new users a day. iMode subscribers can exchange e-mail, do online banking and surf among more than 7,000 Internet sites set up for mobile phone access. (Reuters/TechWeb 22 May 2000) http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/reuters/REU20000522S0002 GROUP TO PROPOSE DIGITAL COPYRIGHT CHANGES [Right. . .this is "Progressive Policy". . .talk about hiding your true ideology behind an extremely evasive oxymoron. . .] The Progressive Policy Institute is expected to meet with Congress on Wednesday to deliver its proposed remedy for the current legal wranglings over copyright infringements via the Internet. The changes include: requiring Internet companies to collect personally identifiable and verifiable information from their users, rather than allowing them to sign on anonymously; setting a specific time frame for removing copyright-infringing materials off the Net; and allowing judges to grant injunctions against companies such as Napster whose services are substantially used for exchanging pirated material. (Los Angeles Times 22 May 2000) http://www.latimes.com/business/20000522/t000048299.html G-8 TACKLES CYBERCRIME [In case you wondered why Gnutella has gotten so much air time. . . .] Envoys from the world's leading industrialized nations and private business met this week in Paris to discuss cooperation in fighting Internet-based crime, but widespread differences in national approaches could stymie efforts. At the heart of those differences is the degree to which governments are willing to monitor the Net for illegal behavior, which inevitably occurs at the expense of citizens' privacy. In addition, e-commerce businesses tend to discourage more government involvement, which they view as a menace to both economic growth and individual liberty. On April 27, the Council of Europe published a draft treaty proposing uniform international law enforcement standards in cyberspace, including the requirement that all messages and content sent via the Internet be stored for three months before deleting. That proposal has met with mixed reactions among both governments and industry representatives. The U.S., which held observer status during the drafting, has not endorsed that proposal. (Los Angeles Times 18 May 2000) http://www.latimes.com/business/20000518/t000046914.html RECOMMENDATION COULD DERAIL WORLDCOM-SPRINT DEAL [Not that MCI-Worldcom and Sprint aren't already way too powerful. . .] Federal antitrust lawyers have sent the U.S. Justice Department a formal recommendation against WorldCom's $115-billion buyout of Sprint, arguing that the deal would harm competition by combining the nation's second and third largest long-distance carriers and creating a dominant entity in Internet switching services. Justice's antitrust chief, Joel Klein, who has not yet taken a position on the merger, has asked to meet with the companies' lawyers next week to hear their side of the story. The deal could still be consummated if WorldCom and Sprint are willing to agree to significant divestitures to protect competition. A spokesman for the companies said he's confident the deal will "go through and that all of the various regulatory reviews will be concluded by the fall." The acquisition is also under scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission and the;24r European Commission. (Wall Street Journal 18 May 2000) http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/article1.htm LYCOS ACQUIRED BY TERRA NETWORKS [More mergers. . .in case you didn't realize this happens EVERY day!!!] Internet portal company Lycos will be acquired in a $10 billion or more stock swap by Terra Networks, the Internet arm of Spanish telephone company Telefonica, with German company Bertelsmann taking a stake in the combined company. Annika Alford, an industry analyst with the research firm IDC, says that Terra's interest in Lycos represents a shift from its current efforts to dominate Latin America to "a broader international focus." (Washington Post 16 May 2000) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9121-2000May16.html AOL TO LAUNCH FREE ONLINE SERVICE FOR SCHOOLS [Let's not forget it was kids who "invented" the Internet as we know it] [Let's also not forget that AOL "invented" Gnutella, and once the genie was out of the bottle, hastily reversed their direction. . . .] America Online is set to launch its new AOL@School service -- a free version of its regular service that will include e-mail, instant messaging, and information resources designed for elementary, middle-school and high-school students. The free service does not include Internet access, but rather is targeting schools that are already wired with high-speed hook-ups. The AOL@School service will not feature advertising, but will offer marketing pitches for school supplies and other goods in areas aimed at teachers and administrators. (Wall Street Journal 16 May 2000) http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB958436442629078285.htm NOTICING MARCH TO E-PUBLISHING, MAJOR FIRMS CHOOSE TO LEAD PARADE A burst of announcements today will signal that the electronic publishing revolution is just a few years away. Best-selling author Michael Crichton's new thriller "Timeline" will be made available through an arrangement between Microsoft and the publishing companies Simon & Schuster (a unit of Viacom) and Random House (a unit of Bertelsmann). In a separate development, Time Warner's publishing group is creating two new startups, iPublish.com and iWrite to seek authors of material to be published in electronic form. Robert E. Baensch of New York University says: "The large conglomerates realize now that they better learn by doing rather than to continue to observe not one, not 5, not 50, but hundreds of startup.coms that are entering this market." (New York Times 23 May 2000) http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/05/biztech/articles/23books.html You have been reading excerpts from NewsScan Daily Underwritten by Arthur Andersen & IEEE Computer Society If you have questions or comments about NewsScan send e-mail to Editors@newsscan.com To subscribe or unsubscribe to NewsScan Daily, send an e-mail message to NewsScan@NewsScan.com with 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. E-NOVEL APPROACH PROMISES NEW CHAPTER FOR BOOK LOVERS Electronic books might look and feel just like traditional books within the next several years, due to companies such as E Ink that are advancing the technology. E Ink, a small company founded by MIT researchers, is working on flexible electronic paper that looks and feels like standard paper, and electronic ink that can change into different characters. E-book users would be able to change the book's content by plugging the device into a phone line or wireless receiver. Currently, E Ink is using its technology to make indoor signs, since large letters are much easier to produce than the small letters required for a book. J.C. Penney, Eckerd drugstores, and Yahoo! are all using E Ink signs. As E Ink refines its technology, it believes e-books will be possible by 2003 or 2004. E Ink's displays are more readable than any electronic display, and require little power to change content. In addition, the displays stay on even when the power is off, so an E Ink book would not need to be powered after the user has loaded content. Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center is also working on e-book technology, but E Ink appears to be in the lead. (USA Today, 9 May 2000) INTERNET OFFERING ECONOMIC LIFELINE TO RURAL SOUTH The rural South is starting to reverse its low-tech image as many small towns work to provide Internet access for residents and businesses that see the region's growth potential. The historic town of Thomasville, Ga., recently purchased its local utilities to provide inexpensive, reliable Internet access. Thomasville's high-tech push led food-processing firm Flower Industries to move its data-processing business to the town. Another small Southern town, Conway, Ark., is home to a top database-marketing service called Acxiom with more than $700 million in annual sales. Meanwhile, Blacksburg, Va., gave all of its residents free Internet access in the early 1990s and now has over 70 percent of its population using the Internet on a regular basis. Rural markets are eager for access to technology, since utilities such as cable companies have traditionally neglected these regions in favor of more densely populated and therefore profitable areas. Building up technology in small towns is also viewed as a way to alleviate some of the overcrowding in urban areas. (Christian Science Monitor Online, 3 May 2000) E-WORDS ARE TOUGH FOR FRANCE TO SWALLOW French officials are trying to prevent American terms associated with the Internet from entering the French language. Officials, particularly those from the Academie Francaise, which has been defending the French language since 1635, are afraid that if firm action is not taken to protect the language, French translations of Internet terms will be rejected in favor of American versions. Recently, the French Finance Ministry produced a list of acceptable French vocabulary for the Internet age, which was created by a government commission after long talks with the Academie Francaise. The list provides correct versions for increasingly common words. Although these terms are just recommendations for the majority of French people, they are mandatory for public declarations and official documents. Meanwhile, the Academie Francaise has been working on its own "Dictionary of Official Terms," which will be mandatory for government use, including public schools, where many children encounter the Internet for the first time. (USA Today, 1 May 2000) RURAL SCHOOL IS NOW WIRED TO THE WORLD The Internet is helping rural schools overcome isolation in Wyoming, a state so sparsely populated that 19 of its 234 elementary schools have fewer than 10 students this year. This school year Wyoming became the first state to provide Internet access in all of its public schools. One beneficiary of the technology is nine-year-old Diamond Forbes, the only student in a one-room elementary school in Kaycee, Wyo., who uses an iMac to surf the Web to keep up with third graders in larger schools. Wyoming, where job growth is slow and many college graduates leave the state, has not yet capitalized on the tech-driven economy. Recognizing the need to provide children with job skills, Gov. Jim Geringer five years ago spearheaded the effort to bring Internet access to all Wyoming schools, which has cost $25 million so far. By next month, Wyoming plans to have all of its high schools connected to a two-way interactive video system that will allow students to participate remotely in classes their schools do not offer. (New York Times, 4 May 2000) UNIVERSITIES SEE WEB AS TOOL TO SELL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Hoping to supplement waning federal research funds, universities are selling their intellectual property online. Using traditional means, universities have been largely unsuccessful in their efforts to sell their research; in 1998, just three cents of revenue was generated from every dollar spent on research initiatives. Universities attribute this poor return to inexperience in the market and an emphasis on department interests rather than market requirements when performing research. A new online intellectual marketplace, called UVentures.com, aims to improve university efforts to sell intellectual property by connecting buyers and sellers online. The marketplace is expected to generate more purchases than traditional methods, because it links a greater variety of interested parties. The marketplace is also expected to make it easier for companies to search for available intellectual properties. "We welcome with open arms this ability to find technology by browsing a single site," says Bob Johnson, a commercial analyst at biotechnology firm Onyvax Limited. (InternetWeek Online, 1 May 2000) EDUCATION REASSESSED IN WORKER SHORTAGE DEBATE The high-tech industry, complaining of a severe labor shortage, is reconsidering the importance of a four-year college degree for certain types of IT workers. Four-year universities are often unable to keep up with rapidly changing technology. As a result, lobbyists and recruiters are turning to community colleges and for-profit schools, which seem to be more flexible and less expensive than traditional schools, says Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America. Industry observers say some technicians and support staff do not need the same level of education as software developers, for example. (EE Times Online, 4 May 2000) COLLEGES GET BAD GRADES FOR WEB SITES Prospective college students say, on average, university and college Web sites do not provide the information they need. BreathingLife.com Director of Operations Bonnie Matheney says higher education Web sites often have big files and badly placed scripts, as well as high-resolution pictures, which make downloads much longer. Her company intends to offer assistance and information to college and graduate applicants. Case Western Reserve University dean of admissions Bill Conley says college Web pages tend to be bandwidth-heavy because the schools have faster connections than their audiences, so even a focus group reviewing the site on campus will get a different picture than those elsewhere. Student Stacey Recarba researched schools online, and found--after waiting for the pages to download--that she could easily find information about the schools' athletic programs, but application information was much more difficult. Matheney notes that schools have so many different groups within themselves and so many different groups they want to reach that forming a coherent message can be a major challenge. She recommends that someone from the information services support staff be appointed Webmaster to track usage, assign URLs, and keep the system running. (Interactive Week, 1 May 2000) E-MAIL PRODUCTIVITY GAINS = $9,000 PER EMPLOYEE Ferris Research has released the results of a study designed to quantify the costs and benefits of e-mail, and estimates that the overall benefit in terms of increased productivity equals about $9,000 per employee. Rather than treading into the murky area of nonquantifiable benefits, such as improved decision-making, Ferris attempted to focus on items that delivered a tangible benefit, like time not spent on addressing snail mail envelopes, operating postage and fax machines, etc. It derived a 15% to 20% productivity improvement, with an overall increase of 326 hours per employee on the average. Ferris then attempted to quantify those hours, giving them a value of $13,000. Then came the downside: Ferris found that employees waste on an average 115 hours dealing with nonproductive e-mail, translating to a loss of about $4,000 per worker a year. Subtract the loss from the gain, and the result is an overall benefit of $9,000 per employee, or a 15% productivity gain. Ferris says that rate can be raised to 20% by more actively managing company e-mail systems: discouraging personal e-mail, shortening e-mail distribution lists, and helping workers identify and trash spam. (Investor's Business Daily 25 May 2000) AOL, WORLDCOM TEAM UP America Online and WorldCom have signed an agreement to market AOL's Internet services to WorldCom's residential local and long-distance customers. WorldCom's Internet subscribers will be offered at least six months to convert to AOL. (Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times 25 May 2000) http://www.latimes.com/business/20000525/t000049364.html LOAFER-TRACKING SATELLITES IN DENVER Following a TV news report showing some city employees playing cards and sleeping on the job, Denver officials want to spend $1.5 million to track Public Works Department and other city vehicles through Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites originally developed for the military. Denver labor lawyer Ellen Kelman opposes the plan: "There is no system that will prevent some individuals from engaging in abuse. But do we want to infringe on the rights of all to catch a few scofflaws?" (AP/USA Today 23 May 2000) http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cth959.htm OUTSMARTED, TOYSMART PULLS THE PLUG The most recent of several online toy merchants to shut down, the Massachusetts-based educational toy retailer Toysmart.com, owned in large part by Walt Disney Co., has announced it is going out of business. Forrester Research industry analyst Seema Williams says, "Toysmart.com never even came close. They didn't do anything wrong, but they were just the wrong company selling the wrong product at the wrong time." The company was unable to compete with larger companies such as eToys, Amazon.com, and ToysRUs.com, which offered wider selections of merchandise and had larger advertising budgets. (AP/Washington Post 23 May 2000) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53319-2000May23.html You have been reading excerpts from NewsScan Daily Underwritten by Arthur Andersen & IEEE Computer Society If you have questions or comments about NewsScan send e-mail to Editors@newsscan.com To subscribe or unsubscribe to NewsScan Daily, send an e-mail message to NewsScan@NewsScan.com with 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' in the subject line.
pgmonthly_2000_06_07_part_2.txt
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